A new proposed OMB rule would take decision making about who and what gets federal research funding away from scientists and experts and put it into the hands of politicians. If you care about science, call your reps and post a public comment here before July 13: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...

Audubon Day yesterday at the @lsulibraries.bsky.social was an incredible chance for the public to see all four folios of Audubon’s The Birds of North America and their newly acquired Quadrupeds of North America 😍🦜🦆🦅🦢🦃🦉🦩🐦‍⬛🪿🐿️🐻🦝🐅🦌🦨🦫

I had a great time at the @hhmi-science.bsky.social Gilliam Mentorship workshop last week! My mentee @marquisehenry.bsky.social was with me in spirit and in latte 😂☕️

LSU Discover Day 2026 was an awesome chance for lab members (and one of our CURE lab students!) to present research from the lab! Thanks to @lsudiscover.bsky.social for organizing! @lsuscience.bsky.social @lsubiosci.bsky.social 🧪🧫🦎

Post-doc opportunity on comparative cognition and movement dynamics in corvids with the brilliant Prof Debbie Kelly at the University of Manitoba

It’s wild azalea season in Louisiana 😍

The first Louisiana iris of spring! 🤩

I worked with several @lsu.bsky.social undergraduate researchers to redesign technical posters to make them accessible for a broader audience, & they did a fabulous job presenting their findings to lawmakers this past Monday @lailluminator.com: lailluminator.com/2026/03/13/c...

College student research on display at Louisiana State Capitol  • Louisiana Illuminator

Louisiana’s university students presented their research at the State Capitol this week to demonstrate the impact of undergrad research

lailluminator.com

Sparrows that avoided novelty also performed more repetitive beak-wiping behavior, suggesting these birds may be more anxious. This project was the @lsubiosci.bsky.social honors thesis of @lsuscience.bsky.social undergrad Danna Masri, who is also first author! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Lattin and @juheehaam.bsky.social lab members teaching local 4th-6th graders about neurobiology at the @lsumns.bsky.social annual Kids' Day at the Museum event! @lsuscience.bsky.social @lsulagniappe.bsky.social 🧪

New paper alert! Our collaboration with @jacanamama.bsky.social & Alex Bentz found Eurasian tree sparrows, a less-successful invasive cousin of house sparrows, had distinct patterns of gene expression associated with novelty avoidance that differed by sex: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

Today I learned that Charles Darwin delayed publishing On the Origin of Species because he was too busy writing FOUR VOLUMES on the barnacles of the world (shout out to @lucycooke.bsky.social and her awesome book Bitch for that fun fact) 📚🧪

These orb-weaver spiders build FAKE SPIDER DECOYS in their webs, potentially to deter predators 🤯 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (Araneidae) Orb‐Weavers Build Stabilimenta That Resemble Larger Spiders

The orb-weaving spider Cyclosa longicauda from Peru constructs unique stabilimenta from detritus and silk that visually resemble a larger spider. This previously undescribed behavior likely functions....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Roseate spoonbills on the @lsu.bsky.social lake!

Congratulations to Rebekah Rashford and team, it’s finally out! We tagged early life stress-activated neurons in VTA and found that chromatin those cells was much more open, even into adulthood, and that open CREs predicted greater gene expression in response to stress later in life rdcu.be/eLa9z

Persistent open chromatin state in early-life stress-activated cells of the VTA

Scientific Reports - Persistent open chromatin state in early-life stress-activated cells of the VTA

rdcu.be

Bird-safe glass on the new @lsuscience.bsky.social Interdisciplinary Science Building! The repeated 2 inch vertical pattern should help minimize window collisions 🥰🐦‍⬛🪟

It was thrilling to be involved in this multi-site, multi-bird @themanybirds.bsky.social project out today in @plosbiology.org! We examined why some bird species show more novelty avoidance than others; 2 big predictors were a specialist diet & migratory behavior: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia

Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...

dx.plos.org

I’m loving the @lsumns.bsky.social new “Art After Dark” series! Last night I learned how @lsu.bsky.social Art & Design Professor Leslie Koptcho is making paper out of invasive plants, and using them as inspiration for her printmaking 😍🌱📃🖼️🧪

Current list of funded programs in EPSCoR states: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

EGFP Designated Awardee Institutions and Programs

nsf.gov

This may be the most important paper ever published about NIH funded research. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

What if NIH had been 40% smaller?

Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research

science.org

Enter the 2026 @sicb-spdac.bsky.social sticker contest! Stickers will be available at the SPDAC booth at the #SICB2026 meeting. Enter submissions by November 3 as PDF or PNG files (>600 dpi; no AI designs). 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place will receive Visa gift card prizes: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The lab’s research on house sparrows & Eurasian tree sparrows is featured in Chapter 2 of David Stipp’s new non-fiction book, “Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep: And Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution," available September 23: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david... 🤩🐦📖🧪

"Once you get to the top, you get to ski all the way back down the mountain!" Read @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student @jacobcarignan.bsky.social's interview with Quantitative Ecologist Michelle Stantial about her ski mountaineering hobby: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

A very nice article from @lsuscience.bsky.social about @marquisehenry.bsky.social and his @hhmi.org Gilliam Fellowship! Geaux Marquise!! 💜💛 www.lsu.edu/science/news...

I’m so so proud of rockstar PhD student @marquisehenry.bsky.social who is one of this year’s class of @hhmi.org Gilliam Fellows! @lsubiosci.bsky.social @lsuscience.bsky.social @lsu.bsky.social

HHMI@hhmi-science.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Congratulations 2025 Gilliam Fellows and Advisors! 🎉 The Gilliam Fellows Program launches promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments. Through this program, HHMI supports both graduate students and their faculty thesis advisors.

"I got all my friends and family to come out and see me being Anne of Cleves! That was great." @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student @ezekielbmartin.bsky.social interviews @westernu.ca Biology Professor @bethmacshack.bsky.social about her show choir hobby: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

"This campaign wasn't written by biologists...I have to come up on the fly with a reason why it makes sense to somebody who knows about genetics." @lsumns.bsky.social PhD student @harveyyamanda.bsky.social interviews Quinn McCallum about his RPG & miniatures hobbies: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

"I've snapped tendons in my hands, which meant long recovery periods...those moments taught me patience." @urigso.bsky.social Oceanographer Kelton McMahon talking about his rock climbing hobby with @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student Yasodha Gamage on our class blog: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

I had an awesome morning at the #postersatcapitolLA25 event today! I really enjoyed chatting with Louisiana’s best and brightest undergrad researchers @lsu.bsky.social & 11 other LaURA organizations on how their important work helps their local communities, our state, country & world 🥹🧪

"I had the choice of getting a driver’s license for a moped or a sailboat, and of course I went for the boat." Read more about @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student Jackson Ferber's interview with @katharinahoff.bsky.social about her sailing hobby here: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...